Sunday, 26 June 2016

I've been seeing good things about this flexi all over, but somehow there isn't a single rip of it out there. Well, I got my hands on one after going to see Skeleton with Blank Spell; unfortunately no one else (aside from a couple friends, one of whom had flown in for Philly Shreds) showed up. And after spinning this flexi, I'm even more let down that the gig fell through, because this material kills.

Skeleton plays some gnarly riff driven hardcore punk; a style which I love, but also a style which is becoming harder and harder to pull off due to the total oversaturation of bands who are trying to sound like Rudimentary Peni. Fortunately, bands like this one exist to get it right. The serpentine riffs feel as if they're too long as they wind their way through the mix, but instead of progressions which are seemingly all over the place, Skeleton strips things down; and it's this primal simplicity which puts them way ahead of many of their peers. Combine that with abrupt tempo shifts, crushingly brutal and heavy atmospheres and production, and snarled one-line lyrics -- and you've got yourself a winner of an EP.

They said they'd be coming back around later this year, so I'm really looking forward to actually getting to see them. But until then, I'll just be replaying these nasty numbers again and again.

Tuesday, 7 June 2016

I know, I know, there hasn't been much posting on FBN in 2016 thus far. So, to make up for it, here is a megapost comprised of 45 of my favorite releases from 2016 (15 LPs, 15 EPs, 15 demos), each with a short review and download link (the titles are the links). Oh and this is the only place you'll be able to find some of these with split tracks. Fucked By Noise doesn't fuck around. Don't say I never gave you anything.

Disclaimer: no download links were stolen from other blogs, because that's just tacky (you know who you are). If I found it on another blog, the original post is linked rather than a direct link to the download on a filesharing site, unless multiple blogs posted the exact same link and then I figured fuck it. Bandcamps with free downloads are also linked. For downloading from VK, I recommend getting the VK music downloader extension/add-on, although I'm sure there are other extensions/add-ons which will work just fine.

But enough small talk, let's get to it.

- LP -

Hez Hez
I've been sitting on this since last year, but I think it's safe to post it since it's officially out. Hez takes all of the best elements of hyper aggro hardcore punk and twisted dark punk, and smashes them together with a bestial ferocity. On top of it all, instead of typical guitar solos/breaks, they utilize rudimentary guitar-based pedal electronics which only adds an extra level of filth and menace.

FFO: No, Muerte

Behavior 375 Images Of AngelsBehavior made their debut a couple years back as a noisy hardcore punk powerhouse with subtle post-punk leanings, but on their LP they have shed away their hardcore shell and reemerged as a truly interesting post-punk/art punk outfit. While many contemporary post-punk groups try way too hard to sound like their 80s inspirations, Behavior stands out as a true spiritual successor to the original boundary pushing art punk bands. FFO: Wire, This Heat

Column Of Heaven / Suffering Luna split
This link leads to a review I previously published on FBN, but in summation: Column Of Heaven delivers a crushing black/death/grind and industrial/power electronics hybrid which sends them off with a bang. Suffering Luna is still Suffering Luna, so expect trippy, fucked up, sample-laden sludge. This has split tracks.

FFO: Knelt Rote, Gasp

Skáphe Skáphe²
Skáphe's demo was one of my favorite releases in 2014 and this LP picks up right where they left off. One of the tags on their bandcamp (the above link) is "asphyxiating," and honestly that describes their music perfectly; it's akin to what I'd imagine it would feel like to suffocate in the deep void of space. Skáphe's material is truly haunting.

FFO: Arizmenda, Lantern

Genocide Organ Obituary Of The AmericasIf you know Genocide Organ, then you already have an idea of what this will sound like. If you don't, then brace yourself for waves of pulsing death industrial and heavy electronics, accompanied by military samples and distorted, threatening vocals. It's always nice to see older artists haven't lost their touch.FFO: Brighter Death Now, Propergol

NASA Space Universe 70 A.D.This link leads to a review I previously published on FBN, but in summation: NSU goes down kicking and screaming, dragging us into the void with them. This is by far their most aggressive and raw release, but maintains all of the weirdness that they've been well known and loved for. They've claimed their place among the stars. FFO: Die Kreuzen, Mecht Mensch

Billy Bao Lagos Sessions
I reviewed this for Cvlt Nation, but here's a summary: Billy Bao is back and pushing their sonic experiments ever further than ever on their newest and most audacious release. A jarring, yet unbelievably engaging hour long sound collage over four 15 minute tracks takes you on a journey through Lagos, giving you a taste of what the experience might be like. Buckle up.

FFO: Nurse With Wound, Cosmonauts Hail Satan

No Negative The Good Never ComesSo, I'm not sure if this was released early this year or very, very late last year, but as far as I can tell it wasn't officially released until January (I could be wrong, though). Whatever, anyway, this is total psych'd out noise rock that really is equal parts wigged out psych and scummy, repetative noise rock. It's a must-hear (then again, so is everything else here). FFO: Destruction Unit, Brainbombs

Vordr In The Shadow Of The WolfI honestly didn't even know Vordr was still active until I saw this LP in the related videos when I was looking for their 2009 s/t 12" to show someone. On their newest output, as with past material, Vordr leads the charge for a punky raw black metal assault. This one is a ripper fersure. FFO: Karmic Void, Arnaut Pavle

The Body & Full Of Hell One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache
The Body and Full Of Hell are bands who get shit for being popular from the ~2 tr00 4 u~ crowd, but these guys not only know their shit, they also know how to put it to use. The material on this collab draws from all types of electronic and noise music, including, but not limited to: noisecore/noisegrind, electro, black/industrial, dark ambient, and death industrial to produce something genuinely scary. I just wish their fans and so-called "contemporaries" would take note (playing recorded static or using an oscillator for 10 seconds doesn't count).

FFO: Gnaw Their Tongues, Gasp

Green Beret Standing At The Mouth Of HellThere is an overwhelming amount of d-beat coming out of the US right now, and while much of it is just white, english speakers using random Swedish words or Japanese characters, and playing forgettable riffs, there are a handful totally raging bands. Green Beret is definitely one of the few who cut through the endless snoozefest and hit that sweet spot; and they hit it fucking hard. FFO: Totalitär, World Burns To Death

Puce Mary The Spiral
Oh man, this one is a doozy. Puce Mary, at least to me, stands out as one of the best current industrial/noise acts out there. Her ability to play off of classic death/industrial and make it sound fresh and terrifying is uncanny. This new LP is probably her best and most intense material to date, flowing from unsettling ambient to walls of heavy electronics and covering all territory in between.

FFO: SPK, Atrax Morgue

Qrixkuor Three Devils Dance
Qrixkuor put out a demo a couple years back that floored me, but of course when I lost 2/3 of my music last year, their demo went with it. And then my friend posted about this LP and I listened and was floored by them all over again. Qrixkuor slams you with an ominous atmosphere pierced by pummeling force and total shredding annihilation. And divebombs.

FFO: Impetuous Ritual, Grave Upheaval

Crvel Sombras
Crvel came out of nowhere, and when I heard this LP I think I listened to it six times in a row. Sombras is perfectly executed driving-yet-melancholy deathrock. Like other bands in the doing-deathrock-right camp, Crvel makes nods to a number of sources while still sounding fresh. This is also probably the best use of chorus, flangers, and phasers I've heard all year.

FFO: Altar De Fey, Zotz

Sissy Spacek Disfathom
Sissy Spacek has been releasing so much in the past couple years it's gettnig hard to keep up; but what I have heard has been incredible, which should come as no surprise. Disfathom is like running headfirst into a tornado. In this case, the tornado happens to be made of turbospeed bass/drums grind and power electronics. Don't blink or you'll miss it.

FFO: Sete Star Sept, Euthanizer

-EP-

Magnum Force Hood Crimes
This is another release I don't have much info on, but I can tell you that it fucking rips. Instead of shoehorning breakdowns in and using obnoxious football coach vocals, Magnum Force lets it all flow naturally. And flowing naturally for them means erratic tempo shifts, killer riffs, and a perfect level of hyper-aggression; not macho brodown hyper-aggression mind you, just pure unbridled rage. This has split tracks.

The review for this one could be almost identical to the one above, except Snake Charmer takes their rampage even further. This EP is a behemoth; it's a pure expression of hatred and pain via raw and crushing hardcore punk. I'd honestly go as far as to call this powerviolence, because Snake Charmer really carries the torch of total unpredictable, thrashing, overwhelming anger. Regardless, this is some of the best fastcore to come out in the past couple years. This has split tracks.

FFO: Threatener, Mindless

Golden Path / Genexsplit
Noisy stomping punk has become all but played out at this point, but both Golden Path and Genex have found a way to keep their stampedes from sounding stale. Each band finds their own way to play around the formula: Golden Path's approach owes more to noise rock and punk, while Genex goes the Discharge, metal-tinged route (without resorting to relying on d-beats). Both takes on the style are equally effective in evoking a desire to kill.

FFO: Sewer Drainer, Qualm

Ramleh Conquest Play / Clockwork
This 12" single is a return to form for Ramleh. Side A is straightforward power electronics, side B is a psych'd out post-punk/noise rock dirge. It's simple, it's effective, and it's fantastic. The guys over at Broken Flag are doing their thing, and they still got it.

FFO: Consumer Electronics, Strangulated Beatoffs

Witchface Alt Gaar I Svart
I was pretty hayppy to see there was a new Witchface EP this year. Just as on the previous releases, static and fuzz is layered over midtempo punk with winding, sinister riffs. One cool thing about Witchface is that there is always a bounce to the material which isn't necessarily something you'd expect from the style. Definitely worth a listen.

Oooh boy, this is a ripper. Triage sounds like if Show No Mercy era Slayer was playing Hear Nothing... era Discharge influenced hardcore punk. Do I really need to say anything beyond that? You should be sold on this already. Power Beat has the riffs, the shred, and all the driving force you could want out of a thrashing hardcore release. Get ready to rage.

FFO: Slayer, Discharge

Rubber Mate Rub ‘Em All
According to the band, they started as a Brainbombs halloween cover band and then just kept playing together. I believe it. Cut the songs down to 2 minutes and throw a touch of Doc Dart and/or Bobby Soxx and/or Larry Lifeless in the mix, and you've got a pretty good idea of what this sounds like. Oh, and there's rudimentary contact mic electronics layered over the whole thing, adding another level of filth to this already gross display of degeneracy.

FFO: Stick Men With Ray Guns, Fang

Humiliation 4 Track EP
I saw this described somewhere (I think the Sorry State monthly update?) as being what it'd sound like if the Damaged Black Flag lineup kept playing together. I think there's a lot more to this than that, but I totally feel that; add some depraved, crushing twists to that and you'll get the idea. Humiliation sounds like desperation, like pain. This has split tracks.

FFO: Black Flag, Low Places

Framtid The Horrific Visions
Yup, it's a Framtid 7" alright. Thick, fuzzed out, and raging as all hell. And d-beats, don't forget d-beats. What can I really say about Framtid that hasn't been said a million times? They're great and they still wreck everyone else.

FFO: Hakuchi, 突撃戦車 (Totsugeki Sensya)

Barcelona Pueden Ser Ellos
Barcelona's debut 12" last year was total mayhem, and this 7" picks right up where that left off. Their signature no-snare sound is pummeling; the drumming bulldozes a choppy raw punk assault on the senses. The whole thing moves at an odd pace, sometimes even *gasp* diverging from the typical punk 4/4 time. This off kilter feel of Pueden Ser Ellos just makes it that much more volatile.

FFO: Atentado, Maquina Muerta

M. Del Rio Cleft Skull
Oh hey, it's the super secret Raspberry Bulbs flexi that's not actually Raspberry Bulbs but it totally is. I'm not sure if Del Rio is back to doing solo work on this or if it's the full band, but I assume it's the former. It's dark and dirty post-punk as you'd expect, but is somewhat of a callback to the older RB tapes (which is why I think it's solo stuff).

FFO: Raspberry Bulbs, Masturbation

Wojtek O Crooked Serpent, Receive My Spirit
Sometimes bands from delaware don't suck, and sometimes they're even really sick. And Wojtek is sick. They started out playing fairly straightforward raw black metal/punk, but have become more bestial with each release, and on their newest offering, they've assumed a form which is much closer to Conqueror than Ildjarn. Is raw death metal/punk a thing yet outside of Guillotine Terror?

I wasn't totally sold the first time I heard Rakta, but then that collab with Cadaver Em Transe (RIP, I am so sad they broke up) happened and I decided to reevaluate my opinion. So I gave them another chance, and lemme tell you, this band is fantastic. Rakta's brand of deathrock comes complete with over chorused everything, jangly post-punk guitar, driving drums, spooky synth, and an overall creepy atmosphere. I'm definitely looking forward to the LP due out this year on Iron Lung Records.

Diva Cup is a punk band who truly don't give a fuck. They're dirty, sleazy, and downright fantastic. They were giving away fireworks to be used during their set if that's any indication. Of course, this translates over to their music; the material on Overflow is reckless, sloppy, and snotty as fuck. If you want smutty punk, this is probably exactly what you're looking for. Also, it's just bass/drums/vocals.

FFO: Confuse, Outo

Mollot US Winter Tour Tape
Some dork posted a review of this on youtube and fumbled around calling it "experimental hardcore" and remarking at how harsh and noisy it is (apparently people don't know noise rock is a thing in 2016). Well, he's right in that Mollot is harsh and nasty and unrelenting; this tape is total blown out, deranged noise rock perfection. Mollot plays all the wrong things in all the right ways. I'm just bummed their tour didn't make it anywhere near me.

FFO: Rusted Shut, Drunkdriver

- DEMO -

Siyahkal Sagzani Demo
I had an insider tip about this demo before it came out, and sweet fuck is it good. But I would expect nothing less from a band made up of members of Desgraciados, Naamahk, and Golden Path. That being said, Siyahkal sounds nothing like those bands at all. Intstead, Siyahkal plays off kilter, choppy hardcore punk with an occasional catchy hook. Oh, and all the lyrics are in farsi. This demo will wreck you. I'm already itching for more.

Okay, I am so sick of instrumental intros on demos, this shit needs to end. However, Decapitators get a pass, because theirs is actually a perfect build up to the first track. The material on this demo is fairly straightforward scandi influenced raw punk, which can be total hit or miss, but Decapitators nailed it. Not much else to say, just hit play and rage away.

This link leads to a review I previously published on FBN, but in summation: Members of Börn (a.k.a. one of the best deathrock bands on the planet) playing bouncy, stompy, dark hardcore punk. Dauðyflin is raw, aggressive, and just all around badass.

FFO: Dregs, Mocoso

Plastic Plastic 2.0
Plastic is, without a doubt, the best synthpunk band on the planet right now. When I first listened to this tape, I'm pretty sure I played it on repeat ten times or something. Instead of trying to rip off classic, innovative bands, Plastic puts their own deranged twist on the twisted synthpunk style. Plastic 2.0 is genuinely unnerving, and sits at a point between early industrial and proto-hardcore punk. Plastic is on their own level, and their Devo-copycating peers don't stand a chance.

Those Naamahk boys are at it again, but this time they're playing more straightforward raw black metal/punk. The riffs on this really stand out from those typical for the style; they're simultaneously melodic and dissonant, and take some pretty unexpected turns. The pacing is the same way, certain changes happen and I just think, "Oh, fuck yea." And that's the type of shit I live for.

Do you like thrashing black/death? Of course you do. Or maybe not. Whatever, assuming that you (yes you, the reader) like thrashing black/death, then you gotta check Siege Column out. This shit is ripping. It's got all the divebombs and sickass thrash riffage you want, and that war metal aesthetic (in a borad sense, not just visually) that we all love so well. As the kids these days say, infernal hails.

Damn, it feels as if Pollen's first show was a a couple weeks ago. They're definitely a band you have to experience live, but this demo does a solid job of capturing their energy. They play blown out [mangle]d-beat with a twist: there are only crash cymbals; no hi-hats or rides, just crashes. It actually really pushes their raw punk attack over the top. Added bonus, they don't do the racist/exotifying fake broken english and kanji thing that their peers often do. This has split tracks.

Bummed Brown Sugar isn't a band anymore? Me too. But, you're in luck, because some of those dudes are doing a new band called Kaleidoscope. There's less subtlety, more tweaked out psych, and just as much wonky, off kilter, fuzzed out hardcore punk genius. Do drugs or whatever, I don't know. Not the classic mexican psych band of the same name.

This link leads to a review I previously published on FBN, but in summation: Acrylics succeed where many fail, they make shit for the weird by the weird. These guys know how to make genuinely fucked up punk, I get a lot of East Bay Ray and Greg Ginn vibes. You'll like it.

Their first set upstaged the other two bands they played with (one of them Gag, which I guess isn't that tough). All I could think was, "Holy shit, it's like YDI playing Peni riffs." And that was with an incomplete lineup (I forget why), and with a full lineup, they're even bigger and badder. S-21 dishes out the pain; they have the darkness, heaviness, and raw power that makes for an ideal aggro hardcore punk band (emphasis on punk, I mean aggro as in Citizens Arrest, not Earth Crisis). Break shit.

If it wasn't for the lack of aussie accent, I would swear Crumb is from the land down under (hey Brayden and Jerry). They sound like a lot of the noise rock coming out of there in recent years. The guitar on this stands out particularly. The riffs have an almost surf punk and/or cowpunk feel, but are dark and dissonant in a deeply unnerving way (which is a good thing, obviously). This demo really surprised me and has me coming back over and over again.

Finally, the long awaited sequel is here! I've been listening to City Hunter's s/t CS on repeat for the past 3-4 years, and while that short burst (2:38 in total) is incredible, I have been dying for more. And after the wait, Knife Protocol does not disappoint. The tape is a live recording (and it really sounds like one) which clocks in at 7:08, but manages to successfully showcase City Hunter's brutal intensity and menacing presence. Like if YDI was really into slasher flicks (lots of YDI going around). So when is the LP dropping?

This label,Vrasubatlat, popped up out of fucking nowhere, and in a very short time, has cranked out some incredible black/death, but this might be their best yet. Dagger Lust is cavernous and unforgiving. Over the course of two tracks, they unleash some of the most foul, dismal, and downright malevolent black/death I've heard this year. And part of that is due to their use of power electronics to create a truly noxious atmomsphere. The other part is that this just fucking rips.

FFO: Teitanblood, Triumvir Foul

Intensive Care Pay Pig
This link leads to a review I previously published on FBN, but in summation: Andrew Nolan drives another one home, this time it's noise rock and power electronics. It's heavy, gritty, and all around amazing. Intensive Care will knock you down. A personal letter to Nolan: please play philly, thanks.

I honestly think Eduardo Ramirez (a.k.a. Volahn) can do no wrong. He's put out so much amazing black and death metal, and already demonstrated his punk chops in Mata Mata; but Zoloa is where it all comes together. Their previous two demos were solid, but Plato O Plomo is much more fully realized than its predecessors. It's as if they've taken the best elements of both japanese and swedish crust, and put them through a cavernous black/death lens. Absolutely punishing.

FFO: Disgust, Seitan

This was some shit. And you know what, fuck it. I'm plugging my own band too. I think I earned it.

Bloated Subhumans Execution I
Not gonna write a review because that would be corny as shit. Repetative noise rock with power electronics. I'm done. Hope you enjoyed this absurdly large megapost.